Category: Carlene Olsen
Collins Seeks to Modernize GI Bill
GIBILL
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/21/07
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 —Members of the military Reserves and the National Guard would receive expanded education benefits under legislation Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) proposed last week.
Collins’ bill to modernize the Montgomery GI Bill, introduced with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), would allow individuals to receive benefits after separating from service and to earn benefits based on time served.
“We have been asking a great deal of [Guard and Reserves] ever since the attacks on our country in September of 2001,” Collins said in a phone interview. “Our goal is to try to improve the educational benefits…in recognition of their service and sacrifice.”
Active-duty service members now have up to 10 years after separation from service to use their benefits. Under the proposed legislation, reservists and Guard members would have the same benefits after separation.
Sgt. Maj. Robert Haley, educational services manager for the Maine Army National Guard, said there are “huge disparities” between the benefits among active-duty forces and mobilized Guard and Reserve forces.
“The primary disparity is one of money,” Haley said. “The GI Bill provides an excess of $36,000 worth of [active-duty] benefits, while the bill provides select reserves slightly more then $11,000 worth [of benefits].”
Under the proposed legislation, activated Guard and Reserve members who serve a year in Iraq or other combat zones would be awarded the same educational benefits as active-duty soldiers serving for the same amount of time, Collins said.
“Whatever the cap on funding given, it would be the same on a proportional basis among the National Guards and those on active duty,” Collins said.
The proposed bill also would integrate all GI Bill programs under one title, making equity upgrades applicable to active duty and Reserve and Guard members.
“Essentially everybody falls under the same rules,” Haley said of the bill. “The more time you serve, the more educational benefits you will receive.”
In Maine, about 70 percent of the state’s Army National Guard force, or nearly 1,400 soldiers, have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, according to a recent press release from Sen. Collins’ office.
Though the legislation would extend benefits for members of the Guard and Reserves, some individuals may choose to serve for a shorter time because the increased benefits make retirement more attractive, Haley said.
The bill “may increase enrollment, but it may also increase the number of people who leave the Guard sooner than they actually would,” he said.
Veterans’ organizations, such as the American Legion, support the proposed legislation as a response to the increasingly prominent role of the National Guard and Reserve forces since September 11, Steve Robertson, legislative director of the legion, said.
“There has been a dramatic change in the role of the Guard and Reserve,” Robertson said. “It appears as if kids are coming back now and not getting the same types of benefits that active-duty service members are getting.”
The GI Bill needs to be updated, he added.
###
State Efforts Underway to Reduce Climate Change
ENVIRONMENT
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/14/07
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 – “Global warming is indeed occurring, and it is undeniable that human actions had an impact on climate change,” Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said at an international climate change summit Wednesday.
Snowe, co-chairwoman of the International Climate Change Taskforce, addressed initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a global temperature rise.
Maine is one of eight northeastern states involved in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. California already has a law to slow the effects of climate change, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), said at the summit, which spans two days.
“Maine is embracing the California emission standards,” Snowe said in an interview. “It’s a very forward way of thinking.”
The Greenhouse Gas Initiative calls for power plants to cap carbon dioxide emissions at the current level of 121 million tons a year through 2015 as a step toward reducing emissions by 10 percent by 2020.
Because of melting ice caps, rising sea levels and increased carbon dioxide emissions, Boxer said, bipartisan support is needed from Congress to reduce the effects of global warming.
“We need to approach the issue with hope,” Boxer said. “We need to have the political will to get it all going.”
Snowe, who co-sponsored the Global Warming Reduction Act with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), also stressed the importance of bipartisan support.
“Time is not on our side,” Snowe said. “There is no question that we need to move forward in a timely fashion.”
The bill, which is before the Senate, would set targeted dates for greenhouse gas reduction to keep global temperatures from rising two or more degrees.
“Scientists suggest there is a [temperature] ‘tipping point’ beyond which they predict catastrophic environmental and economic events,” Snowe said
International leaders, including Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and current president of the G8 economic forum, attended the climate change session to discuss global warming initiatives.
###
Early Money Leads Suggest Plans for ‘08 Senate Race
FECMAINE
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/13/07
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13—Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Democratic Rep. Thomas Allen left money trails in the last election that point towards a possible face-off in the 2008 race for Senate, campaign analysts said.
Collins plans to run for a third term in the Senate, Steve Abbott, the senator’s chief of staff, said. Allen, who is in his sixth term in the House representing the 1st District, has not yet made an official decision to run but is exploring the possibility, Mark Sullivan, the congressman’s press secretary, said.
“As [Allen] stated, he is very interested in looking at the opportunity [to run for senator],” Sullivan said. “But, he’s not on a timetable to make any announcements.”
And Allen already has more campaign cash on hand than Collins has. According to reports filed by each politician with the Federal Election Commission. As of Dec. 31, 2006, Allen had $501,849, while Collins had $435,657.
“Having cash on hand is the first sign that it’s going to be a serious challenge,” said Bradley Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission
Allen, as an incumbent in the2006 election, already has a base of donors and name recognition, since he is one of only two representatives in the state, Smith said, though Collins does not lack a strong fundraising record.
“Allen, obviously, is a major player, and I think he’ll have a good individual base to draw money from,” Smith, now a law professor at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, said. . “The vast majority of funding always comes from individuals, about 80 percent [of it] or more,.” he noted.
On average, candidates raise about $7.8 million for Senate races, according to data analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics. However, races in states such as Maine may have a lower average because of lower campaign costs, particularly less expensive television advertising, said Massie Ritsch, communications director at the center, which tracks money in politics.
“Maine will be a cheaper race because you don’t have expensive media, such as in New York,” Ritsch said. Campaign funds may peak around the $5 million mark in the state’s next senatorial election, he added.
Collins, who raised just over $4.5 million in her race in 2002, already has strong support in the state, with an over-all approval rating of 73 percent as of last November, according to survey results from www.govtrack.us, an independent congressional tracking site.
In regard to Allen’s fundraising prospects for 2008, Sullivan said the congressman is taking it slow.
“[Allen] thinks Maine people deserve a little break from campaigns,” Sullivan said.
Though a Senate campaign remains uncertain for Allen, fundraising events for Collins are underway, Abbott said.
“We are starting fundraising opportunities now,” Abbott said. “Sen. Collins has historically been a very strong fundraiser. I’m confident she’ll have enough money to run a first-rate, well-financed campaign.”
Second District Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud is not planning on a 2008 senatorial run, according to Monica Castellanos, the congressman’s press secretary. As a result, Michaud gave $70,500 of his leadership political action committee funds to Democratic candidates in the last election, almost 10 percent of his overall funds, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
“Right now the congressman wants to focus on the office he was just elected to,” Castellanos said. “He did give a fair amount of money out [in the last election] because he wanted to work with his colleagues who were committed to the same issues.”
Ritsch said candidates often donate to other campaigns to be a “team player;” however, those saving money for an election inevitably give less away.
###
Collins to Introduce ID Act Amendment
COLLINS
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/9/07
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 – Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced plans Friday to introduce a bill next week that would extend the time frame states have to create a federally mandated identification system for residents.
Collins said at a press conference she supports the Real ID Act of 2005. “I just think we need to do it in a more practical way,” she said.
The act requires states to issue federally approved driver’s licenses and identification cards to United States residents by next May, creating a national database of information in efforts to tighten security. Under the current act, state computer systems would need to undergo major updates to issue the federally compliant cards, yet government assistance is lacking, Collins said.
“The Department of Homeland Security has yet to issue regulations that give guidance to states,” she said.
The senator said she met Friday with Matthew Dunlap, Maine’s secretary of state, to discuss existing challenges under the current act before she announced her proposals to the press.
“I intend to work with my colleagues [on the bill] and I do anticipate bi-partisan support,” Collins said.
The senator’s proposed bill offers three main provisions. It would extend the time frame for states to set up compliant computer systems, establish a committee to oversee the regulations of the act and broaden the authority of the secretary of homeland security.
“We greatly appreciate [Collins’] recognizing that we cannot meet the 2008 deadline of Real ID,” said David Quam, director of federal relations for the National Governors Association. “We need more time to examine what will be required of the states.”
State government costs for implementing the act are expected to total more than $100 million from 2005 to 2009, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Though one study, conducted in part by the Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures, estimated an $11 billion cost for the next five years.
“We need additional funding and more flexibility for states,” Quam said. “We’re glad Sen. Collins recognizes that.”
###
Collins to Push for Increased Teacher Tax Deduction
TEACHERS
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/5/07
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 – Teachers would receive an increased tax deduction for school supply costs under a bill Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and John Warner (R-Va.) plan to introduce Tuesday.
Currently, teachers can file a $250 tax deduction, which is subtracted from an individual’s total income, creating an adjusted gross taxable income figure. Sen. Collins’ bill would increase the annual deduction to $400, starting with tax returns filed next year.
“I found that teachers were spending far more, on average, than $250 to buy classroom supplies,” Collins said in a phone interview. “There were a couple of surveys that suggested many teachers were spending as much as $1,000 for supplies for their class.”
The proposed change is an amendment to a Collins’-sponsored tax credit that passed in 2002.
Collins’ amendment, which is supported by the National Education Association, also enables teachers to deduct unfunded academic workshop expenses through a tax credit.
“My experience from talking to teachers is that professional development money is scarce in most school systems,” Collins said. “It is often the first thing cut when the budget is being reduced.”
Though some school districts pay for professional development, the proposed legislation enables teachers to include any personal workshop costs in their annual tax deduction.
“There seems to be an unwritten rule that teachers are supposed to take money out of their own pockets to do the job they do,” said Chris Galgay, president of the Maine Education Association. “And, they have to be pretty dedicated to do it.”
Though teachers may not spend a significant amount of money on supplies at one time, throughout the year the costs add up, Galgay said.
Teachers nationwide spend, on average, $443 per year, and some spend significantly more, said Randall Moody, chief lobbyist for the National Education Association.
Pam Dahl, a first grade teacher at the Fairmount Elementary School in Bangor, said she spends much more then the current $250 tax deduction for supplies throughout the year.
“Every time we’re going to do a project, like cooking, the money is always out of pocket,” she said. “I also buy extra snacks to keep on hand for the kids, as well as materials I use to set up my classroom and for extra projects.”
Fairmount Elementary provides an annual $450 credit per teacher for needed expenses, such as textbooks, pencils and paper, but those supplies are ordered before the start of a new school year, she said.
“It’s hard to know in May what you’re going to want in October and November,” Dahl said. “If there is something I need throughout the year, I buy it.”
###
Nation Receives C- for ‘06 Ocean Reform
OCEANS
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
1/30/07
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 – State initiatives for ocean policy reform made notable progress in 2006, earning two letter-grades above the national C-minus ranking, according to an ocean commission report released Tuesday.
“The threat [to our oceans] is beyond question,” said retired Navy Adm. James Watkins, co-chairman of the report, in a teleconference Tuesday.
The second annual U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card evaluates the country’s conservation efforts nationally and regionally in six categories. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission created the non-partisan Joint Ocean Commission Initiative in 2004 to “accelerate the pace of change” through its annual reports, Watkins said.
“Oceans have a tremendous impact on the American economy,” he said. “These grades are important indicators of America’s progress, or lack of progress, in conserving this important resource.”
States such as Maine and Massachusetts have established ocean councils and regional environmental groups to improve the quality of ocean protection, said Leon Panetta, a former Clinton White House chief of staff, who also co-chaired the report.
“The states are leading the way, but they cannot succeed without the help of the federal government,” he said, in regards to policy reform. “We need to establish a federal approach that supports the states in that effort.”
The Massachusetts Oceans Act, drafted to create a state-wide ocean management plan, was noted as a “significant development” in the policy report, as were efforts by the Gulf of Maine Council on Marine Environment.
“In addition to the [Oceans Act], we are involved in a major partnership with a U.S.Geological Survey group to conduct sea-floor mapping,” Bruce Carlisle, acting director of Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, said in a telephone interview.
A comprehensive study of the coastal economy also is underway to determine the impact marine industries have on the overall state economy, Carlisle said.
Every dollar invested in ocean conservation could save $184 in the overall economy, Watkins said, adding that an additional $750 million in federal funding is needed.
Though some progress has been made at the federal level with the passage and subsequent renewals of the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, more could be done, Watkins said.
The report gave an F to federal funding efforts for ocean reform because of cutbacks last year, Panetta said.
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland, the senior Republican on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans, said ocean policy programs may receive more attention with the new majority in Congress.
“Across the board, many of these programs dealing with ocean policy, we hope, will be bumped up to better reflect the ocean commission report,” Gilchrest said in a telephone interview.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act reflects the government’s recognition of the ocean commission report, he said.
“2006 was a year where we finally acknowledged the damage, due to global warming, that is impacting on our planet,” Panetta said. “Our hope is that 2007 will be a year of action to try to save both our planet and our oceans.”
###
War Protestors Seek Congressional Support for Troop Withdrawal
PROTEST
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
1/29/07
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 - Six war protesters from Maine remained in town after this weekend’s anti-war rally to seek support from Maine’s congressional delegation for legislation to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
“We asked Congress to consider de-funding the war by voting against the [military] appropriations bill due in February,” said Charles Alexander of Ellsworth, who attended the meetings.
He said the response from Rep. Michael Michaud’s office “was quite favorable, since he has voted against the last three military appropriations bills.”
However, Alexander said Rep. Tom Allen’s staff spoke more cautiously. Alexander met with Todd Stein, the congressman’s deputy director of staff.
“Rep. Allen seems worried that by de-funding the war he will be de-funding the troops,” Alexander said. Allen is more interested in amendments to the appropriations bill that would de-fund escalating the war, Alexander said.
Mark Sullivan, press secretary for Allen, said the congressman firmly opposes the war.
“[Allen] has spoken out strongly in opposition to the President’s policies and against the troop escalation,” said Sullivan. “And, he has called for re-deployment to begin immediately to bring the troops home.”
The Maine protestors presented a signed petition against the troop increase to legislative aides to the Democratic congressmen and to Sam Horton, a senior policy advisor to Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, Alexander said.
The petition, signed by bus passengers on their way to Saturday’s protest, also called for bringing troops home from Iraq as soon as possible, said Tim McCormick of Ellsworth, who also met with the congressional staffers.
“They are beginning to see which way the wind blows,” McCormick said in regards to Maine’s congressional delegation. “I think that as long as people keep the issue front and center, sooner or later, hopefully sooner, we will get the army out of Iraq.”
The anti-war advocates were unable to schedule an appointment with Republican Sen. Susan Collins Monday, Alexander said. Collins is working with Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to draft a resolution on the President’s planned troop increase in Iraq.
Snowe has announced her support for a competing bipartisan resolution against troop-escalation sponsored by Democratic Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Carl Levin of Michigan as well as Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
Alexander and McCormick said their efforts did not go unnoticed after meeting with the congressional staffers on Capitol Hill following the weekend protest.
“All the offices are very much aware of the size of the demonstration this weekend,” said Alexander. “And they are all aware that there is a huge amount of concern at home.”
###
Federal Funding a Must for Ethanol Fuel Increase, Allen Says
ENERGY
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
1/24/07
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24–Rep. Tom Allen said Wednesday that increased federal funding is needed to make President Bush’s proposal to substantially reduce oil consumption by 2017 a reality.
Bush, who made his proposal in his State of the Union message Tuesday night, “has not always followed through in the past on what he proposed about energy,” said Allen, a Democrat who represents the state’s southern congressional district. “But assuming [the President] and the Congress, together, take some big steps to increase the production of ethanol, there are a number of different ways to get it.”
Ethanol, a fuel additive that helps gasoline burn cleanly, is commonly produced in the United States from corn. However, in order to reach the president’s proposed 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels within the next 10 years, more energy-efficient methods of production are needed, said Sara Banaszak, senior economist at the American Petroleum Institute in Washington, D.C.
“Increased ethanol production from corn could drive up the price of the crop for consumers and livestock owners,” Banaszak said. “Cellulosic ethanol, produced from wood chips and grasses as opposed to corn, is more energy- and cost- efficient.”
Allen said the federal government needs to guarantee loans or provide financial assistance to individuals and companies who want to produce ethanol from materials other than corn.
“Brazil has become free of foreign oil by investing in ethanol from sugar cane and by creating a distribution network of ethanol pumps at filling stations across the country,” he said. “There is great potential here, and we should do everything we can to make sure Maine is part of the action.”
But Banaszak noted that prior to its ethanol conversion, Brazil had consumed a significantly smaller amount of gasoline than does the United States.
“Brazil is a very different case as far as gas consumption,” she said. “It requires a lot more fuel to replace gasoline in America than to replace it in Brazil, where they produce ethanol from sugar cane, which grows in the tropical climate.”
Maine residents consumed an estimated 740 million gallons of gasoline in 2005, according to the most recent Department of Energy report, said Jamie Py, president of Maine Oil Dealers Association.
Fuel dealers and wholesalers would need to upgrade their equipment before they could accommodate alternative fuels, he added.
“The industry will sell whatever is required by the federal and state law,” Py said. “If it’s an ethanol product, it will just mean we have to change some of the infrastructure within the state and the nation so it can handle the fuel.”
Ethanol, unlike gasoline, does not separate when mixed with water. To accommodate the proposed 35 billion gallon increase, gas pipes, which currently accept up to a 10 percent ethanol mix, would need to be reconfigured.
Allen also said improvements in the auto industry can aid the president’s 10-year energy proposal, decreasing the country’s reliance on foreign oil.
“I believe we could achieve that kind of goal if we made significant efforts to improve mileage for cars and trucks,” Allen said. “With more effective vehicles plus ethanol, some fairly dramatic steps can be made.”
###
AP Scores on the Rise Nation-Wide
APSCORES
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/12/06
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – Students in Maine and across the country improved their performance on Advanced Placement exams last year, leading an increasing number to graduate high school with college credit, according to a report released last week.
AP classes enable high school students to earn college credit in 37 subject areas, with many colleges offering credit for exam scores of 3 or higher out of a possible 5. The courses span the academic year and culminate with an exam in May.
Kimberly Johnston, senior associate director of admissions at the University of Maine, said the university typically awards credit for scores of 3 or above, though standards vary depending on the course.
“AP courses are part of what we consider when we’re looking at the rigor of a student’s curriculum,” Johnston said. “But, we certainly do not require any [AP course work].”
In Maine last year, 3,048 members of the 2006 class took an AP exam while in high school, up from 1,809 in 2000, according to a report released last week by The College Board, a non-profit association focused on college admissions and exams.
In 2006 in Maine, 14.4 percent earned a score of 3 or higher on exams during their high school career, whereas in 2000 only 10.1 percent scored 3 or higher. Nationwide in 2006, 14.8 percent earned a score of 3 or higher.
“All 50 states and the District of Columbia increased the percentage of students who succeeded in AP courses,” Gaston Caperton, president of The College Board, said at a press conference.
Currently, 112 public high schools out of 123 in Maine offer the advanced courses, said David Connerty-Marin, communications director for the Maine Department of Education.
In 2006, the state eliminated the existing equity gap among American Indian students taking AP exams, a goal previously accomplished among the Hispanic student population in 2000 and again last year.
However, AP participation among black students remains below the national average, according to data from the Maine Department of Education.
Phil Pratt, associate director of institutional studies at the University of Maine, said the number of students who entered the university with sophomore standing rose from 2005 to 2006 due to AP credit and other college course-work.
“In the fall of 2005, we had 19 new first-time freshmen who were able to start as sophomores,” Pratt said, “In the fall of 2006, that number grew to 28 [students].”
About 20 percent of the university’s first-year students entered the school with some form of AP credit last year, he said.
###
